Single-crystal structural study of the pressure-temperature-induced dimerization of C60

We present a study by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction/diffuse scattering of C-60 single-crystals treated at high-pressure and high-temperature. This allowed us to obtain structural information on the C-60 dimer state which can be considered as an intermediate state in the polymerization process. In the 1-6 GPa pressure range the crystals are primarily formed of dimers with additional minor fractions of monomers, 1D and 2D polymers, as shown by the analysis of the Raman spectra. The dimers are disordered within an average cubic lattice derived from that of the monomer. Single-crystal diffraction patterns reveal a characteristic diffuse scattering intensity distribution which has been simulated by calculating the diffuse scattering produced by dimer and trimer model structures. Satisfactory agreement is obtained for random positional and orientational disorder of the C-60-C-60 dimers although a small concentration of similarly disordered trimers is likely. In a first approximation the dimer/trimer disorder can be considered as random but various inter-dimer correlations are probably present, as discussed.